The Poison Death, Jan. 30, 1938

Blue Coal is the sponsor again for this episode. The episode opens up with the normal commercial. John Barkley had written a book about how to reduce the heating costs for your home, and it's being given away free for a postcard.

A call comes in to the hospital from a woman who says she has children who have been poisoned. Another woman finds out her husband was poisoned and is dead. A third talk says there are lots of poison cases.

Commissioner Weston reports to the mayor and tells him has has no clue to the poison epidemic. There has been a note to the paper wanting a million dollars for the end of the poisoning, but the note is signed the Shadow.

The Mayor believes the Shadow sent the note, but the police commissioner says he doesn't believe it's from the Shadow. The commissioner says he has no clues. The mayor says the poison has no antidote.

Clyde Burke calls the Mayor and tells him he has a note from the Shadow and he plans to poison a particular person.

Margo is talking to Lamont. The two look over a map of the poisoning. The cases are scattered all over the city. Lamont realizes that the people could have been poisoned by the water, and someone from the water company, or acting they are there, would have access to the pipes and could put poison in them.

Lamont says the criminal deviated from his straight path by murdering a particular man as an act of vengeance. He notes particular patterns in the typed ransom notes, indicating a particular typewriter was used.

Lamont plans to go to the Department of Sanitation to check the typewriters in the offices. Margo will go with him to check the typewriters there.

They check the office of the chief chemist and find the typewriter they were looking for. They suddenly hear a strange sound from a room marked Laboratory.

Lamont sends Margo out to the car. Now it's time for the Shadow to get involved.

Then it's time for another commercial.

The city chemist is talking to himself in the lab. He plans to become commissioner of sanitation since he killed the actual one.

Suddenly the voice of the Shadow is heard. (The usual explanation of the Shadow's being invisible is given.) The Shadow then tells the chemist that he realized the murderer had a grudge, and that's why the commissioner of sanitation was killed.

Gerber was filling a bottle with poison. He's been making more poison. Gerber claims the Shadow cannot stop him. He plans to drive to a fashionable suburb and put the poison into a water tower.

Gerber shows the Shadow a test tube filled with acid. He plans to use that when the Shadow tries to stop him physically and become visible. Gerber starts to walk out of the room, and they start to fight. Gerber flings the acid and then leaves the room.

Lamont gets out to the car and uses the first-aid kit. His hand is injured. Margo follows Gerber's car while Lamont fixes himself; he's in considerable pain but has her continue.

Gerber gets to the water tower. Lamont plans to climb the tower even with his injured hand; Margo is to notify the police and shut off the water from the tower.

Gerber again hears the voice of the Shadow as he climbs the water tower. Gerber gets to the top and shoots the trap door's lock. He describes everything he's doing as he does it. The Shadow destroys the poison before the guy can put it in the water.

Gerber plans to follow blood marks from the Shadow's hand to attack him. Police sirens can be heard. The two men fight, then Gerber confesses to the police commissioner and exonerates the Shadow. Gerber jumps from the tower to his death.

The commissioner hears the voice of the Shadow. He explains he was the man that Gerber was fighting with. The Shadow asks to be allowed to publicly take credit for solving this crime since Gerber had used his name to make him appear to be the villain.

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